How Secret Hitler's Social Deduction Gameplay Works

Secret Hitler is a social deduction game for 5–10 players in which everyone is secretly assigned to one of two teams: the liberals, who hold the majority, and the fascists, who know each other but are hidden from everyone else. The liberals win by identifying and stopping Hitler before the fascists complete a fascist takeover; the fascists win by getting Hitler elected or by pushing their agenda far enough. The core tension is that liberals must trust each other enough to control elections, while fascists can say anything to get elected.

The two teams and what each one knows

The game divides players into two hidden factions:

• Liberals — the majority. They do not know who anyone else is, including other liberals. Their only advantage is numbers: if they can learn to trust each other, they have enough votes to control the elections and save the day.
• Fascists — the minority. They are hidden to everyone but each other, so they can coordinate quietly while the liberals are still guessing. Their job is to get elected, advance their agenda, and win the game.

Hitler is a special figure on the fascist side. The liberals' overall goal is to find and stop Hitler and prevent a fascist takeover, which is why the game is framed around that single target rather than just "defeat the fascists."

Why elections are the center of the game

Because liberals have the votes, elections are the mechanism the majority can use to take control — but only if they can agree on whom to trust. Fascists exploit this by campaigning like liberals, saying whatever it takes to get elected. Every election is therefore both a practical step and a piece of information: who voted for whom, and who ended up in power, becomes evidence the liberals can use to narrow down the fascists.

This is the "social deduction" part: there is no hidden information revealed by the game itself beyond what players choose to say and do. Reading other players is the actual skill.

What you need to play

According to the site, Secret Hitler is available for free under a Creative Commons BY–NC–SA 4.0 license. To play the print-and-play version, plan to spend about an hour with a printer and scissors, or about $5 and 20–30 minutes at a local print shop. The site provides a rules PDF and a print-and-play PDF.

If you would rather not print anything, the game is also available everywhere that Blackbox ships, and a Standard Edition is listed on the site.

Quick reference

Common points of confusion

• Liberals don't know each other. Being on the majority team does not mean you have teammates you can identify — you have to build trust through play.
• Fascists can lie freely. Nothing in the rules stops a fascist from claiming to be a liberal, which is exactly why elections are contested.
• Hitler is the target, not just the faction. Stopping the fascist agenda and stopping Hitler are linked, but the framing puts Hitler at the center of what the liberals are trying to prevent.

For the full rules and the print-and-play files, the site's Rules and Print & Play PDFs are the authoritative source; the FAQ also covers where the game is available and what the Creative Commons license permits if you want to make your own version.